JP2010039686A - Voice output device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly output road traffic information by voice. <P>SOLUTION: A guidance output ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 1 has: an importance decision part 104 deciding whether or not display content information showing contents displayed on an indicator acquired by an information acquisition part 102 is important to a driver; a line of sight detection part 108 detecting a direction of a line of sight of the driver; a confirmation decision part 109 deciding whether the driver has confirmed the indicator or not based on vehicle position information, position information of the indicator acquired by the information acquisition part 102, and the direction of the line of sight detected by the line of sight detection part 108; and an output control part 110 making an instruction to output voice information corresponding to the indicator a prescribed time earlier to a navigation ECU 21 when it is decided that the information is important and when it is decided that the driver has not confirmed the indicator. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a voice output device that is communicably connected to a navigation device that detects a vehicle position that is a position on a map of a vehicle and outputs road traffic information as a voice to a driver of the vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an audio output device that acquires information from road-to-vehicle communication or the like via a navigation device and notifies the driver as audio information (or image information) is known. In the above voice output device, the guidance voice is output regardless of whether the information is important or urgent to the driver, and whether or not the driver has confirmed the information. May feel annoying.

In order to solve the above problems, various apparatuses and methods have been proposed. For example, when the object of road traffic information detected by the road traffic information detection means is included in the image detected by the vehicle surrounding image detection means, it is determined that the driver recognizes the object, and this A vehicle information output device that does not present information related to an object is disclosed (see Patent Document 1). According to this vehicle information output device, since only the vehicle surroundings that cannot be seen by the driver are presented as information, the driver can be prevented from feeling annoyed.
JP 2002-245597 A

  However, in the vehicle information output device described in Patent Document 1, when the object of road traffic information is included in the image detected by the vehicle surrounding image detection means, the driver recognizes the object. However, this judgment may not be correct. That is, even if the object of road traffic information is in a position where it can be visually recognized by the driver, the driver may not have confirmed the object.

  In addition, the road traffic information includes information that is not important information for the driver, and if the information that is not important is notified, the driver may feel annoyed. Furthermore, when the driver turns off the voice output, the driver is not notified even if there is important road traffic information.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, Comprising: It is providing the audio | voice output apparatus which can carry out the audio | voice output of road traffic information appropriately.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following features. A first aspect of the present invention is an audio output device that is communicably connected to a navigation device that detects a vehicle position that is a position on a map of a vehicle, and outputs road traffic information as audio to a driver of the vehicle. Based on the vehicle position information detected by the navigation device, the position information of the sign object arranged in the traveling direction of the vehicle from the navigation apparatus and displaying road traffic information so as to be visible, and the sign object Sign information acquisition means for acquiring display content information indicating the contents displayed on the display, and the importance of determining whether the display content information acquired by the sign information acquisition means is important information for the driver The determination means, the gaze detection means for detecting the direction of the driver's gaze, and the vehicle position information and the indication information acquisition means at a predetermined timing set in advance. Confirmation determination means for determining whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign based on the acquired positional information of the sign and the direction of the line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection means, and the importance determination If the information is determined to be important information by the means and is not confirmed by the confirmation determination means, the voice corresponding to the sign object for a predetermined time set in advance to the navigation device. Output control means for giving an instruction to advance the output timing of information.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the sign information acquisition unit includes position information of a sign disposed in a predetermined range set in advance in the traveling direction of the vehicle from the navigation device, and a display. Get content information.

  According to a third invention, in the second invention, there is provided range setting means for setting the predetermined range based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, wherein the indication information acquisition means is within the range set by the range setting means. The position information and display content information of the sign object are acquired.

  In a fourth aspect based on the third aspect, the range setting means sets a wider range as the predetermined range as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is higher.

  According to a fifth invention, in the first invention, the sign object includes a road sign, and important information storage means for storing in advance type information indicating a plurality of types of road signs including information important to the driver And when the sign acquired by the sign information acquiring means is a road sign, the road sign matches one of a plurality of types stored in the important information storage means. Whether or not the information is important for the driver is determined based on whether or not to do so.

  In a sixth aspect based on the fifth aspect, the important information storage means previously stores type information corresponding to at least one road sign among a maximum speed limit, a pedestrian crossing, an intersection, a railroad crossing, and a temporary stop. Store.

  In a seventh aspect based on the first aspect, the sign object includes an electronic bulletin board and stores in advance type information indicating the types of a plurality of information displayed on the electronic bulletin board including information important to the driver. And when the sign obtained by the sign information acquisition means is an electric bulletin board, the content displayed on the electric bulletin board is stored in the important information storage means. Whether or not the information is important for the driver is determined based on whether or not it matches any of the plurality of stored types.

  According to an eighth aspect based on the seventh aspect, the important information storage means includes at least one of information indicating that the construction is in progress, information indicating chain regulation during snowfall, traffic jam information, and information indicating an interchange exit. Type information corresponding to each is stored in advance.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the sign includes an electric bulletin board, and the importance determination means is an electric bulletin board when the sign obtained by the sign information acquisition means is an electric bulletin board. When the content displayed on the electronic bulletin board is information that changes depending on the actual road traffic situation, it is determined that the information is important for the driver.

  In a tenth aspect based on the first aspect, the line-of-sight detection unit detects the direction of the driver's line of sight via a camera that captures an image of the driver's face, and the confirmation determination unit Based on the direction of the line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection means, it is determined whether the driver has confirmed the sign.

  In an eleventh aspect based on the first aspect, the direction of the line of sight detected by the line of sight detection means is the direction of the sign from the driver in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. When the time is equal to or greater than a preset first threshold, it is determined that the driver has confirmed the sign.

  In a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when the direction of the line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection means is a second threshold value set in advance or longer than the second threshold value set in advance, And an armpit warning output means for outputting a sound to alert the driver when it is determined that the armpit is determined to be an armpit look.

  In a thirteenth aspect based on the first aspect, the apparatus further comprises distance calculation means for obtaining a distance between the vehicle position and the position of the sign, and the confirmation determination means is obtained by the distance calculation means. It is determined whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign object at a timing when the distance becomes equal to or less than a preset third threshold value.

  In a fourteenth aspect based on the thirteenth aspect, the present invention further comprises threshold setting means for setting the third threshold based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, wherein the confirmation determining means determines the distance obtained by the distance calculating means. Then, it is determined whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign object at a timing that is equal to or lower than the third threshold value set by the threshold value setting means.

  In a fifteenth aspect based on the fourteenth aspect, the threshold value setting means sets a larger value as the third threshold value as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is higher.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the sound output enable / disable determining means for determining whether or not the sound output of the navigation device is set to ON is provided, and the output control means determines the sound output enable / disable determination. When it is determined by the means that the voice output of the navigation device is set to OFF and the importance determination means determines that the information is important information, the voice output is turned on for the navigation device. Instruct to set to.

  In a seventeenth aspect based on the first aspect, the navigation device is configured to be able to acquire road traffic information via road-to-vehicle communication.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, based on the vehicle position information detected by the navigation device, the position information of the sign object arranged in the traveling direction of the vehicle from the navigation device and displayed so that the road traffic information is visible. And the display content information which shows the content currently displayed on this sign is acquired, and it is determined whether the acquired display content information is information important for a driver. Further, the direction of the driver's line of sight is detected. Then, at a predetermined timing set in advance, it is determined whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign object based on the vehicle position information, the acquired position information of the sign object, and the detected gaze direction. The Furthermore, when it is determined that the information is important and is not confirmed, the output timing of the audio information corresponding to the sign object is advanced by a predetermined time for the navigation device. Therefore, the road traffic information can be output as a sound.

  That is, when it is determined that the information displayed on the sign arranged in the traveling direction is important information for the driver, and it is determined that the driver has not confirmed the sign, The navigation device is instructed to advance the output timing of the audio information corresponding to the sign for a predetermined time set in advance. Therefore, since the driver has sufficient time to confirm the important road traffic information displayed on the sign, the driver can surely confirm the important road traffic information.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, since the position information and display content information of the sign placed in the predetermined range set in advance in the traveling direction of the vehicle are acquired from the navigation device, the predetermined range is set appropriately. By setting to, road traffic information can be more appropriately voice output.

  According to the third aspect, the predetermined range is set based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, and the position information and the display content information within the set range are acquired. It is possible to acquire the position information and display content information of the sign object.

  According to the fourth aspect, since the wider range is set as the predetermined range as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is higher, it is possible to acquire the position information and display content information of the sign within the proper range.

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the type information indicating the types of a plurality of road signs including information important to the driver is stored in advance in the important information storage means. Then, when the acquired sign is a road sign, it is information that is important to the driver based on whether the road sign matches one of a plurality of types stored in the important information storage means. Since it is determined whether or not there is information, it can be appropriately determined whether or not the information is important for the driver with a simple configuration.

  According to the sixth aspect, the important information storage means stores in advance the type information corresponding to at least one road sign among the maximum speed limit, the pedestrian crossing, the intersection, the railroad crossing, and the temporary stop. Thus, it is possible to more appropriately determine whether or not the information is important for the driver.

  According to the seventh aspect, the type information indicating the types of the plurality of information displayed on the electronic bulletin board including information important to the driver is stored in advance in the important information storage means. When the acquired sign is an electric bulletin board, the driver displays the information based on whether or not the content displayed on the electric bulletin board matches any of a plurality of types stored in the important information storage means. Since it is determined whether the information is important for the driver, it is possible to appropriately determine whether the information is important for the driver with a simple configuration.

  According to the eighth aspect, the type corresponding to at least one of the information indicating that the construction is in progress, the information indicating the chain regulation during snowfall, the traffic jam information, and the information indicating the interchange exit is stored in the important information storage means. Since the information is stored in advance, it can be more appropriately determined whether the information is important for the driver.

  According to the ninth aspect of the invention, when the acquired sign is an electric bulletin board, when the content displayed on the electric bulletin board is information that changes depending on the actual road traffic situation, it is important for the driver. Since it is determined to be information, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the information is important for the driver with a simple configuration.

  According to the tenth aspect of the invention, the direction of the driver's line of sight is detected via the camera that captures an image of the driver's face, and the driver confirms the sign based on the detected direction of the line of sight. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign object.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, when the direction of the detected line of sight is equal to or greater than a first threshold value set in advance in both the left-right direction and the up-down direction, the time that is the direction of the sign from the driver Since it is determined that the driver has confirmed the sign object, it can be more accurately determined whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign object.

  That is, when the time when the driver's line of sight is directed in the direction of the sign object in both the left-right direction and the up-down direction is equal to or longer than the first threshold (for example, 0.5 sec), the driver confirms the sign object. Therefore, it is possible to more accurately determine whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign object.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, when the detected direction of the line of sight is the direction of the sign object is equal to or more than the second threshold value set in advance, it is determined to be an aside and is determined to be an aside. In such a case, since a voice to alert the driver is output, the convenience can be further improved.

  In other words, when important information is displayed on an electric bulletin board or the like, the driver may stare at the electric bulletin board or the like. Convenience can be further improved by outputting a voice to alert the person.

  According to the thirteenth aspect of the invention, the distance between the vehicle position and the position of the sign object is obtained, and at the timing when the obtained distance becomes equal to or less than the preset third threshold value, the driver Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign object at an appropriate timing by setting the third threshold value to an appropriate value.

  According to the fourteenth aspect, the third threshold value is set based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, and the distance between the vehicle position and the position of the sign object is equal to or less than the set third threshold value. Since it is determined whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign, it can be further determined whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign at an appropriate timing.

  According to the fifteenth aspect of the invention, the higher the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, the larger the third threshold value is set. Therefore, it is further determined whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign at an appropriate timing. Can do.

  In other words, the faster the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is, the shorter the time it takes to reach the marking object. Therefore, the faster the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is, the larger the third threshold value is set. It is possible to determine whether or not the sign has been confirmed.

  According to the sixteenth aspect, it is determined whether the audio output of the navigation device is set to ON. When it is determined that the voice output of the navigation device is set to OFF and the information is determined to be important information for the driver, an instruction to set the voice output to ON for the navigation device Therefore, even when the voice output of the navigation device is set to OFF, the driver can surely confirm important information.

  According to the seventeenth aspect, since the navigation device is configured to be able to acquire road traffic information via road-to-vehicle communication, road traffic information can be easily acquired.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an audio output device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a peripheral device of an audio output device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a guidance output ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 1 (= corresponding to an audio output device) according to the present invention is communicably connected to an input device 2 and an output device 3 as peripheral devices. .

  Here, the input device 2 of the guidance output ECU 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The input device 2 includes a navigation ECU 21, a driver monitor camera 22, and a vehicle speed sensor 23.

  The navigation ECU 21 (= corresponding to a part of the navigation device) includes map information, detects a vehicle position on the map of the vehicle 1 via a GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like, and The position is displayed on the monitor 32. Further, the navigation ECU 21 is configured to be able to acquire road traffic information via road-to-vehicle communication, and the detected vehicle position information and the acquired road traffic information are output to the guidance output ECU 1 (here, the indication shown in FIG. 2). To the information acquisition unit 102).

  The road traffic information includes the position information of the sign object on which the road traffic information is displayed so as to be visible and the display content information indicating the contents displayed on the sign object. The sign includes a road sign and an electric bulletin board. Further, the navigation ECU 21 is configured to be capable of bidirectional communication with the guidance output ECU 1.

  The driver monitor camera 22 is, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera disposed on the steering column or the like, and is a camera that captures image information of the driver's face, and includes a guidance output ECU 1 (here, The captured image information is output to the line-of-sight detection unit 108) illustrated in FIG.

  Here, the driver monitor camera 24 is disposed for the purpose of detecting at least one of the driver's looking-aside state and the closed-eye state. As described above, the driver monitor camera 22 is disposed for the purpose of detecting at least one of the driver's looking-aside state and the closed-eye state, and thus has a simple configuration (= associated with the disposition cost of the driver monitor camera 24). While avoiding an increase in cost), it is possible to accurately determine the direction of the driver's line of sight.

  The vehicle speed sensor 23 is a sensor for detecting the vehicle speed, and outputs a signal indicating the vehicle speed to the guidance output ECU 1 (here, the range setting unit 101 shown in FIG. 2).

  Next, the output device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The output device 3 includes a speaker 31 and a monitor 32. The speaker 31 outputs sound corresponding to the guidance information to the driver in accordance with instructions from the navigation ECU 21 and the guidance output ECU 1 (here, the output control unit 110 and the armpit warning output unit 112 shown in FIG. 2). is there. The monitor 32 is composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like disposed below the meter panel, etc., and from the navigation ECU 21 and the guidance output ECU 1 (here, the output control unit 110 and the armpit alarm output unit 112 shown in FIG. 2). According to the instruction, an image or a character corresponding to the guidance information is displayed to the driver.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the guidance output ECU 1. Functionally, the guidance output ECU 1 includes a range setting unit 101, a sign information acquisition unit 102, an important information storage unit 103, an importance determination unit 104, an audio output availability determination unit 105, a distance calculation unit 106, a threshold setting unit 107, and a line of sight. A detection unit 108, a confirmation determination unit 109, an output control unit 110, an armpit determination unit 111, and an armpit warning output unit 112 are provided.

  The guidance output ECU 1 causes a microcomputer disposed at a proper position of the guidance output ECU 1 to execute a control program stored in advance in a ROM (Read Only Memory) disposed at a proper position of the guidance output ECU 1. The microcomputer includes a range setting unit 101, a sign information acquisition unit 102, an important information storage unit 103, an importance determination unit 104, an audio output availability determination unit 105, a distance calculation unit 106, a threshold setting unit 107, and a line-of-sight detection unit 108. , And function as functional units such as a confirmation determination unit 109, an output control unit 110, an aside look determination unit 111, and an aside look alarm output unit 112.

  The range setting unit 101 (corresponding to the range setting unit) searches the indication information provided in the traveling direction of the own vehicle in the indication information acquisition unit 102 based on the vehicle speed of the own vehicle from the vehicle speed sensor 23. This is a functional unit for setting a search range (corresponding to a predetermined range). Specifically, the range setting unit 101 sets a wider range as the search range as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is higher.

  The sign information acquisition unit 102 (corresponding to the sign information acquisition means) is arranged in the traveling direction of the vehicle from the navigation ECU 21 based on the vehicle position information detected by the navigation ECU 21, and the road traffic information is displayed in a visible manner. It is a function part which acquires the display content information which shows the positional information on the label | marker object to be displayed, and the content currently displayed on this label | marker object. In addition, the sign information acquisition unit 102 acquires position information and display content information of the sign within the search range set by the range setting unit 101.

  In this way, the search range is set based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, and the position information and display content information of the sign within the set range are acquired, so the position of the sign within the proper range Information and display content information can be acquired. Moreover, since the wider range is set as the search range as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is higher, it is possible to acquire the position information and display content information of the sign within the appropriate range.

  In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the range setting unit 101 sets a wider range as the search range as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is higher. However, the range setting unit 101 changes to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle (or In addition, the search range may be set based on other information. For example, the range setting unit 101 determines whether or not each indication object arranged in the traveling direction of the vehicle is visible from the driver via a camera or the like that generates a surrounding image. The sign may be set as the search range. In this case, it is possible to acquire position information and display content information of the sign within a more appropriate range.

  The important information storage unit 103 (corresponding to the important information storage unit) stores in advance type information indicating the types of a plurality of road signs (hereinafter referred to as “important signs”) including information important to the driver. It is. Specifically, the important information storage unit 103 previously stores type information corresponding to the maximum speed limit, pedestrian crossings, intersections, railroad crossings, and temporarily stopped road signs as important sign type information. Further, the important information storage unit 103 stores in advance type information indicating the types of a plurality of pieces of information (hereinafter referred to as “important lightning information”) displayed on the electric bulletin board including information important to the driver. Specifically, the important information storage unit 103, as the type information of the important lightning information, the type corresponding to the information indicating the construction in progress, the information indicating the chain regulation at the time of snowfall, the traffic jam information, and the information indicating the exit of the interchange, respectively. Information is stored in advance.

  The importance determination unit 104 (corresponding to the importance determination unit) is a functional unit that determines whether or not the display content information acquired by the sign information acquisition unit 102 is important information for the driver.

  Specifically, when the sign acquired by the sign information acquisition unit 102 is a road sign, the importance determination unit 104 selects one of the plurality of types stored in the important information storage unit 103. Whether or not the information is important for the driver is determined based on whether or not the information matches. In addition, when the sign acquired by the sign information acquisition unit 102 is an electric bulletin board, the importance determination unit 104 includes a plurality of types of contents displayed on the electric bulletin board stored in the important information storage unit 103. It is determined whether or not the information is important for the driver based on whether or not it matches any of the above. Further, when the sign acquired by the sign information acquisition unit 102 is an electric bulletin board, the importance determination unit 104 is information that changes the content displayed on the electric bulletin board depending on actual road traffic conditions (here, , “Real time information”), it is determined that the information is important for the driver.

  In this way, when the acquired sign is a road sign, the driver is determined based on whether the road sign matches one of a plurality of types stored in the important information storage unit 103. Since it is determined whether or not the information is important, whether or not the information is important for the driver can be appropriately determined with a simple configuration. In addition, since the important information storage unit 103 stores in advance the type information corresponding to the maximum speed limit, pedestrian crossing, intersection, railroad crossing, and temporary stop road signs, is it important information for the driver? Whether or not can be determined more appropriately.

  Further, when the acquired sign is an electric bulletin board, the operation is performed based on whether the content displayed on the electric bulletin board matches any of the plurality of types stored in the important information storage unit 103. Since it is determined whether the information is important for the driver, it is possible to appropriately determine whether the information is important for the driver with a simple configuration. In addition, since the important information storage unit 103 stores in advance the type information corresponding to the information indicating the construction in progress, the information indicating the chain regulation at the time of snowfall, the traffic jam information, and the information indicating the interchange exit, the driver is stored in advance. It is possible to more appropriately determine whether the information is important to the user.

  In addition, when the acquired sign is an electric bulletin board, it is determined that the information displayed on the electric bulletin board is information important to the driver when the information displayed is information that changes depending on actual road traffic conditions. Therefore, whether or not the information is important for the driver can be appropriately determined with a simple configuration.

  In the present embodiment, the case where type information indicating the type of an important sign is stored in advance in the important information storage unit 103 will be described, but based on the operation input of the driver, the important information storage unit 103 stores It is also possible to write the type information indicating the type of the important sign. Similarly, the case where type information indicating the type of important lightning information is stored in advance in the important information storage unit 103 will be described. However, the important lightning information is stored in the important information storage unit 103 based on the operation input of the driver. It is also possible to write the type information indicating the type of information. In these cases, it is possible to more appropriately determine whether or not the information is important for the driver.

  The voice output propriety determination unit 105 (corresponding to the voice output propriety determination unit) determines whether or not the voice output of the navigation apparatus including the navigation ECU 21 is set to ON by communicating with the navigation ECU 21. Part.

  The distance calculation unit 106 (corresponding to a distance calculation unit) is a functional unit that calculates a distance LT between the vehicle position and the position of the sign object acquired by the sign information acquisition unit 102. For example, the distance calculation unit 106 obtains the distance LT between the vehicle position and the position of the sign using the map information stored in the navigation device via the navigation ECU 21. That is, the distance LT between the vehicle position and the position of the sign can be easily obtained by obtaining the vehicle position and the position of the sign as the position on the map stored in the navigation device.

  The threshold setting unit 107 (corresponding to the threshold setting means) defines the timing for determining whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign in the confirmation determination unit 109 based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle from the vehicle speed sensor 23. This is a functional unit for setting the third threshold value SH3. Specifically, the threshold setting unit 107 sets a larger value as the third threshold SH3 as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is higher. That is, the confirmation determination unit 109 determines whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign object at a position where the sign object is separated from the vehicle position as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle increases.

  The line-of-sight detection unit 108 (corresponding to the line-of-sight detection means) is a functional unit that detects the direction of the driver's line of sight via a driver monitor camera 22 that captures an image of the driver's face. Note that the line-of-sight detection unit 108 detects the horizontal and vertical directions as the line-of-sight direction. For example, the line-of-sight detection unit 108 calculates the line-of-sight direction from the ratio of both end positions with respect to the center line by applying the planar head to the cylindrical model (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-280352, etc. if necessary). .

  The confirmation determination unit 109 (corresponding to the confirmation determination unit) is detected by the vehicle position information, the position information of the sign object acquired by the sign information acquisition unit 102, and the line-of-sight detection unit 108 at a predetermined timing set in advance. It is a functional unit that determines whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign based on the direction of the line of sight.

  Specifically, the confirmation determination unit 109 sets a first threshold value in which the time when the direction of the line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 108 is the direction of the sign from the driver in both the left and right directions and the up and down direction When it is (for example, 0.5 sec) or more, it is determined that the driver has confirmed the sign. Further, the confirmation determination unit 109 corresponds to the timing when the distance LT obtained by the distance calculation unit 106 becomes equal to or less than the third threshold value SH3 set by the threshold value setting unit 107 (= corresponding to the determination end timing TE shown in FIG. 3). ) To determine whether the driver has confirmed the sign.

  Thus, the direction of the driver's line of sight is detected via the driver monitor camera 22 that captures an image of the driver's face, and the driver confirms the sign based on the detected direction of the line of sight. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign object. In addition, when the time when the driver's line of sight is directed in the direction of the sign in both the left and right directions is equal to or greater than the first threshold SH1 (for example, 0.5 sec), the driver confirms the sign. Therefore, it can be determined more accurately whether the driver has confirmed the sign.

  Furthermore, the third threshold value SH3 is set based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, and the driver determines that the distance LT between the vehicle position and the position of the sign is equal to or less than the set third threshold value SH3. Since it is determined whether or not the sign has been confirmed, it is possible to determine whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign at a more appropriate timing. In addition, as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle increases, a larger value is set as the third threshold value SH3. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign at a more appropriate timing.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the first threshold value SH1 is set in advance will be described. However, the first threshold value SH1 may be set based on an operation input from a driver or the like. In this case, it can be determined more accurately whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign. That is, it is preferable that the first threshold SH1 is set shorter as the speed at which the driver grasps the content of the sign is faster.

  Moreover, the form which sets 1st threshold value SH1 according to the kind of sign thing may be sufficient. For example, when the sign is a road sign, a small value (for example, 0.2 seconds) is set as the first threshold SH1, and when the sign is an electric bulletin board, a large value is set as the first threshold SH1. (For example, 0.5 seconds) may be set. In this case, it can be determined more accurately whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign.

  The output control unit 110 (corresponding to the output control means) determines that the information is important information by the importance determination unit 104 and determines that the information is not confirmed by the confirmation determination unit 109. On the other hand, it is a functional unit that gives an instruction to advance the output timing of the audio information corresponding to the sign by a predetermined time (= advance time) ΔT (for example, 0.5 sec) set in advance. Further, the output control unit 110 determines that the voice output of the navigation device is set to OFF by the voice output availability determination unit 105 and the importance determination unit 104 determines that the information is important information. Then, the navigation ECU 21 is instructed to set the sound output to ON.

  In this way, when it is determined that the voice output of the navigation device is set to OFF and is determined to be important information for the driver, the voice output is set to ON for the navigation ECU 21. Therefore, even when the voice output of the navigation device is set to OFF, the driver can surely confirm important information.

  FIG. 3 is a timing chart for explaining an example of the operation of the output control unit 110. As shown in FIG. 3, at timing T0, the host vehicle reaches an important sign (or an electric bulletin board on which important electric light information is posted). The period during which the confirmation determination unit 109 determines whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign is a line-of-sight determination period P1 between the determination start timing TS and the determination end timing TE. The determination end timing TE is a timing at which the distance LT obtained by the distance calculation unit 106 becomes equal to or less than the third threshold value SH3 set by the threshold value setting unit 107.

  When the output control unit 110 determines that the driver has not confirmed at the determination end timing TE, the output control unit 110 indicates that the navigation ECU 21 advances the output timing of the audio information corresponding to the sign object by the advance time ΔT. Give instructions. That is, when it is determined that the driver has not confirmed at the determination end timing TE, the output control unit 110 notifies the navigation ECU 21 at the advance timing T2 that is an advance time ΔT before the normal output timing T1. On the other hand, audio information corresponding to the sign is output.

  Returning to FIG. 2 again, the functional configuration of the guidance output ECU 1 will be described. The look-ahead determination unit 111 (corresponding to the look-ahead determination unit) sets in advance a time during which the direction of the line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 108 is the direction of the sign (here, referred to as a confirmation duration TC: see FIG. 5) This is a functional unit that determines to be looking aside when it is equal to or greater than the second threshold value SH2 (for example, 2 sec). In the present embodiment, the case where the second threshold value SH2 is set in advance will be described. However, the second threshold value SH2 may be set based on an operation input from a driver or the like. In this case, a more appropriate value can be set as the second threshold value SH2.

  The side-arm warning output unit 112 (corresponding to the side-arm warning output unit) outputs a voice to alert the driver through the speaker 31 when the side-arm determination unit 111 determines that it is a side-arm. It is a function part which outputs the image (or character) to alert a driver | operator via the monitor 32 while outputting.

  In other words, when important information is displayed on an electric bulletin board or the like, the driver may stare at the electric bulletin board or the like. Convenience can be further improved by outputting a sound and an image for calling attention to a person.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the second threshold value SH2 is set in advance will be described. However, the second threshold value SH2 may be set based on an operation input from a driver or the like. In this case, it is possible to more accurately determine whether or not it is necessary to call attention. That is, it is preferable to set the second threshold SH2 to be shorter as the speed at which the driver grasps the content of the sign is faster.

  Moreover, the form which sets 2nd threshold value SH2 according to the kind of label | marker object may be sufficient. For example, when the sign is a road sign, a small value (for example, 1 second) is set as the second threshold SH2, and when the sign is an electric bulletin board, a large value (for example, the second threshold SH2) 3 seconds) may be set. In this case, it is possible to more accurately determine whether or not it is necessary to call attention.

  4 and 5 are flowcharts showing an example of the operation of the guidance output ECU 1 shown in FIG. Here, the case where the important information type information and the important light information type information are stored in advance in the important information storage unit 103 will be described. A case where the sign is a road sign or an electric bulletin board will be described. First, the range setting unit 101 acquires the vehicle speed of the host vehicle from the vehicle speed sensor 23 (S101). Next, the threshold value setting unit 107 sets the third threshold value SH3 based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle acquired in step S101 (S103). Next, the range setting unit 101 sets the search range for the sign based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle acquired in step S101 (S105). Then, the position information and display content information within the search range set in step S105 are acquired by the label information acquisition unit 102 via the navigation ECU 21 (S107).

  Next, the importance determination unit 104 executes importance determination processing, which is processing for determining whether the sign acquired in step S107 is important information for the driver (S109). Next, the output control unit 110 determines whether or not the information is determined to be important information in step S109 (S111). If it is determined that the information is not important (NO in S111), the process returns to step S101, and the processes after step S101 are repeatedly executed. When it is determined that the information is important (YES in S111), the distance calculation unit 106 obtains the distance LT between the vehicle position and the position of the sign object acquired in step S107 (S113). . Then, the confirmation determination unit 109 determines whether or not the distance LT obtained in step S113 is equal to or smaller than the third threshold value SH3 set in step S103 (S115). If it is determined that it is not equal to or less than the third threshold value SH3 (NO in S115), the process returns to step S113, and the processes after step S113 are repeatedly executed. When it is determined that it is equal to or smaller than the third threshold value SH3 (YES in S115), the line-of-sight detection unit 108 detects the direction of the line of sight via the driver monitor camera 22 (S117).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the confirmation determination unit 109 determines whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign based on the direction of the line of sight detected in step S117 (S119). If it is determined that the driver has confirmed the sign (YES in S119), the process returns to step S101 shown in FIG. 4, and the processes after step S101 are repeatedly executed. When it is determined that the driver has not confirmed the sign (NO in S119), the confirmation determination unit 109 determines whether the driver is checking the sign (S121). If it is determined that confirmation is in progress (YES in S121), the process proceeds to step S129. When it is determined that confirmation is not in progress (NO in S121), the audio output availability determination unit 105 determines whether or not the audio output of the navigation device is set to ON (S123). If it is determined that the audio output is set to OFF (NO in S123), the output control unit 110 outputs an instruction to the navigation ECU 21 to set the audio output to ON (S125). . When the process of step S125 is completed, or if YES in step S123, the output control unit 110 outputs an instruction to advance the output timing of the audio information corresponding to the sign by the advance time ΔT ( S127), the process is returned to step S101 shown in FIG. 4, and the processes after step S101 are repeatedly executed.

  In the case of YES in step S121, the aside look determination unit 111 determines whether or not the time during which the direction of the line of sight is the direction of the sign (= confirmation continuation time TC) is equal to or greater than the second threshold value SH2. S131). If it is determined that the threshold value is greater than or equal to the second threshold value SH2 (YES in S131), the armpit warning output unit 112 outputs a sound and an image to alert the driver (S133), and the process is performed. Returning to step S101 shown in FIG. 4, the processing after step S101 is repeatedly executed. If it is determined that it is less than the second threshold SH2 (NO in S131), whether or not the look-ahead determination unit 111 has returned the direction of the line of sight from the direction of the sign object to the normal direction (= front-front direction). (= Whether or not the confirmation of the sign has been completed) is determined (S135). If it is determined that the confirmation of the sign has been completed (YES in S135), the process returns to step S101 shown in FIG. 4, and the processes after step S101 are repeatedly executed. If it is determined that the confirmation of the sign has not been completed (NO in S135), the process returns to step S129, and the processes after step S129 are repeatedly executed.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the importance determination process executed in step S109 of the flowchart shown in FIG. The following processing is all performed by the importance determination unit 104. First, it is determined whether or not the sign obtained in step S107 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is a road sign (S201). If it is determined that it is a road sign (YES in S201), it is determined whether or not the road sign type information matches any of the important sign type information stored in the important information storage unit 103. (S209). If it is determined that they match (YES in S209), the process proceeds to step S211. If it is determined that they do not match (NO in S209), the process proceeds to step S207.

  If it is determined that it is not a road sign (= electronic bulletin board) (NO in S201), it is determined whether or not the content displayed on the electronic bulletin board is real-time information (S203). If it is determined that the information is real-time information (YES in S203), the process proceeds to step S211. If it is determined that the information is not real-time information (NO in S203), the content displayed on the electronic bulletin board is displayed. Then, it is determined whether or not it matches any of the important lightning information (S205). If it is determined that they do not match (NO in S205) or NO in Step S209, it is determined that the information is not important (S207), and the process returns to Step S111 of the flowchart shown in FIG. If it is determined that they match (YES in S205), YES in step S203, or YES in step S209, it is determined that the information is important (S211), and the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. It returns to step S111.

  In this way, based on the vehicle position information detected by the navigation device, the navigation ECU 21 is arranged in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the position information of the sign object on which the road traffic information is displayed so as to be visible, and the Display content information indicating the content displayed on the sign is acquired, and it is determined whether or not the acquired display content information is important information for the driver. Further, the direction of the driver's line of sight is detected. Then, at a predetermined timing set in advance, it is determined whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign object based on the vehicle position information, the acquired position information of the sign object, and the detected gaze direction. The Furthermore, when it is determined that the information is important and is not confirmed, the output timing of the audio information corresponding to the sign object is advanced by a predetermined time ΔT with respect to the navigation ECU 21. Since the instruction to that effect is given, the road traffic information can be output appropriately by voice.

  That is, when it is determined that the information displayed on the sign arranged in the traveling direction is important information for the driver, and it is determined that the driver has not confirmed the sign, The navigation ECU 21 is instructed to advance the output timing of the audio information corresponding to the sign for a predetermined time ΔT set in advance. Therefore, since the driver has sufficient time to confirm the important road traffic information displayed on the sign, the driver can surely confirm the important road traffic information.

In addition, the audio | voice output apparatus which concerns on this invention is not limited to guidance output ECU1 which concerns on the said embodiment, The following form may be sufficient.
(A) In the present embodiment, the guidance output ECU 1 functionally includes a range setting unit 101, a sign information acquisition unit 102, an important information storage unit 103, an importance determination unit 104, an audio output availability determination unit 105, and a distance calculation. In the above description, the unit 106, the threshold setting unit 107, the line-of-sight detection unit 108, the confirmation determination unit 109, the output control unit 110, the side-view determination unit 111, the side-arm warning output unit 112, and the like have been described. Unit 102, important information storage unit 103, importance determination unit 104, audio output availability determination unit 105, distance calculation unit 106, threshold setting unit 107, line-of-sight detection unit 108, confirmation determination unit 109, output control unit 110, armpit look determination unit 111 and at least one functional unit of the aside alarm output unit 112 may be configured by hardware such as an electric circuit.

  (B) Although the case where the advance time ΔT is set in advance has been described in the present embodiment, the advance time ΔT may be set based on an operation input from a driver or the like. In this case, the road traffic information can be output as a voice at a more appropriate timing. Further, the advance time ΔT may be set in accordance with the type of the sign. For example, when the sign is a road sign, a small value (for example, 0.2 seconds) is set as the advance time ΔT, and when the sign is an electric bulletin board, a large value is set as the advance time ΔT. (For example, 0.5 seconds) may be set. In this case, the road traffic information can be output as a voice at a more appropriate timing.

  The present invention is applied to, for example, an audio output device that is communicably connected to a navigation device that detects a vehicle position that is a position on a map of the vehicle and outputs road traffic information as audio to the driver of the vehicle. be able to.

The block diagram which shows an example of the peripheral device of the audio | voice output apparatus which concerns on this invention Block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the guidance output ECU Timing chart explaining an example of the operation of the output control unit The flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of guidance output ECU shown in FIG. Flowchart showing an example of the operation of the guidance output ECU shown in FIG. 2 (second half) The flowchart which shows an example of the importance determination process performed in step S109 of the flowchart shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Guidance output ECU (voice output device)
101 range setting unit (range setting unit means)
102 Marking information acquisition unit (Marking information acquisition means)
103 important information storage unit (important information storage means)
104 Importance determination unit (importance determination means)
105 Audio output availability determination unit (audio output availability determination means)
106 Distance calculation unit (distance calculation means)
107 Threshold setting unit (threshold setting means)
108 Gaze detection unit (gaze detection means)
109 Confirmation determination unit (confirmation determination means)
110 Output control unit (output control means)
111 Aside look determination unit (aside look determination means)
112 Wakimi alarm output unit (Wakimi alarm output means)
2 Input equipment 21 Navigation ECU (part of the navigation system)
22 Driver monitor camera 23 Vehicle speed sensor 3 Output device 31 Speaker 32 Monitor

Claims (17)

A voice output device that is communicably connected to a navigation device that detects a vehicle position that is a position on a map of the vehicle, and outputs road traffic information as a voice to a driver of the vehicle,
Based on the vehicle position information detected by the navigation device, the navigation device is arranged in the traveling direction of the vehicle and the road traffic information is displayed so that the road traffic information can be visually recognized. Sign information acquisition means for acquiring display content information indicating the displayed content;
Importance determination means for determining whether the display content information acquired by the sign information acquisition means is important information for the driver;
Gaze detection means for detecting the direction of the driver's gaze;
Based on the vehicle position information, the position information of the sign object acquired by the sign information acquisition means, and the line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detection means at a predetermined timing set in advance, the driver Confirmation judging means for judging whether or not the sign object has been confirmed;
When the importance determining means determines that the information is important and the confirmation determining means determines that the information is not confirmed, the sign object is set for a predetermined time for the navigation device. And an output control means for giving an instruction to advance the output timing of the audio information corresponding to.   The voice according to claim 1, wherein the sign information acquisition unit acquires position information and display content information of a sign object disposed in a predetermined range in a traveling direction of the vehicle from the navigation device. Output device. A range setting means for setting the predetermined range based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle,
The voice output device according to claim 2, wherein the sign information acquisition unit acquires position information and display content information of a sign within a range set by the range setting unit.   The audio output device according to claim 3, wherein the range setting means sets a wider range as the predetermined range as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is higher. The sign includes a road sign,
Important information storage means for storing in advance type information indicating the type of a plurality of road signs including information important to the driver,
If the sign acquired by the sign information acquisition means is a road sign, the importance determination means determines whether the road sign matches any of a plurality of types stored in the importance information storage means. The voice output device according to claim 1, wherein the voice output device determines whether the information is important for the driver.   6. The audio output device according to claim 5, wherein the important information storage unit stores in advance type information corresponding to at least one road sign among a maximum speed limit, a pedestrian crossing, an intersection, a railroad crossing, and a temporary stop. The sign includes an electric bulletin board,
Important information storage means for storing in advance type information indicating the type of each of a plurality of information displayed on the electric bulletin board including information important to the driver,
The importance determination means, when the sign acquired by the sign information acquisition means is an electric bulletin board, the content displayed on the electric bulletin board is one of a plurality of types stored in the important information storage means The voice output device according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not the information is important for the driver based on whether or not the information matches.   The important information storage means stores in advance type information corresponding to at least one of information indicating construction, information indicating chain regulation during snowfall, traffic jam information, and information indicating an interchange exit. 8. The audio output device according to 7. The sign includes an electric bulletin board,
The importance determining means, when the sign obtained by the sign information obtaining means is an electric bulletin board, when the content displayed on the electric bulletin board is information that changes according to the actual road traffic situation, The audio output device according to claim 1, wherein the audio output device is determined to be important information for a person. The line-of-sight detection means detects the direction of the driver's line of sight via a camera that captures an image of the driver's face,
The audio output device according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation determination unit determines whether or not a driver has confirmed the sign based on a direction of the line of sight detected by the line of sight detection unit.   In the case where the direction of the line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection means is a time that is the direction of the sign from the driver in the left-right direction and the up-down direction is equal to or more than a preset first threshold value. The audio output device according to claim 1, wherein the driver determines that the sign has been confirmed. Aside-look determination means for determining that the direction of the line-of-sight detected by the line-of-sight detection means is a side look when the time during which the direction of the sign is directed is equal to or greater than a preset second threshold;
The audio output device according to claim 1, further comprising: an aside alarm output unit that outputs a voice that alerts the driver when the aside look determination unit determines that the side is an aside. A distance calculating means for obtaining a distance between the vehicle position and the position of the sign object;
The said confirmation determination means determines whether the driver | operator confirmed the said sign thing at the timing when the distance calculated | required by the said distance calculation means became below the 3rd threshold value preset. The audio output device according to 1. Threshold setting means for setting the third threshold based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle,
The confirmation determining unit determines whether or not the driver has confirmed the sign object at a timing when the distance obtained by the distance calculating unit is equal to or less than a third threshold set by the threshold setting unit. The audio output device according to claim 13.   The voice output device according to claim 14, wherein the threshold value setting means sets a larger value as the third threshold value as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is higher. Voice output availability determination means for determining whether voice output of the navigation device is set to ON,
The output control means, when it is determined by the sound output availability determination means that the sound output of the navigation device is set to OFF, and when it is determined by the importance determination means that it is important information The voice output device according to claim 1, wherein the voice output device instructs the navigation device to set voice output to ON.   The voice output device according to claim 1, wherein the navigation device is configured to be able to acquire road traffic information via road-to-vehicle communication.

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